With a resounding loss to Illinois in the Big 10 tournament, Iowa is reportedly set to fire head basketball coach Fran McCaffrey after 15 years with the team. Needless to say, Caitlin Clark and her boyfriend, Connor McCaffrey, are not supportive of the decision.
Shortly after the announcement, Connor McCaffrey, the son of the longtime head coach, expressed his disgust with the move on X, formerly Twitter. The younger McCaffrey, who played for Iowa from 2017 to 2023, reacted to the news with three clown emojis.
In his 15 seasons with the team, Fran McCaffrey led Iowa to a combined 297-207 record, becoming the program’s all-time wins leader in the process. His tenure included seven NCAA Tournament appearances, the last one in 2022-2023. Since taking over in 2010, he only failed to obtain a winning record twice.
Clark has not yet publicly reacted to the dismissal but is presumably also upset with the move. The Indiana Fever guard has been consistently supportive of her boyfriend and his family due to their shared Iowa basketball ties.
Connor McCaffrey’s younger brother, Patrick, also played for their father from 2019 to 2024. The brothers recently wrapped up the 2024-2025 season with Butler, where Connor spent his first season as an assistant coach and Patrick played his sixth and final season of college basketball. The youngest sibling, Jack McCaffrey, has also committed to the Bulldogs, where he will join Connor in the fall.
Caitlin Clark returns to Iowa with exhibition basketball game
Amid the bitter news of Fran McCaffrey’s firing, Caitlin Clark is preparing to return to the Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the home of Iowa’s basketball teams, in May. The Fever will play a preseason exhibition game in Iowa City against the Brazilian women’s national team on May 4.
Although the game is still two months away, tickets for the novelty affair are already sold out. Every time Clark has returned to campus since graduating, she has drawn a sold-out crowd. Iowa recently welcomed her back to the Carver-Hawkeye Arena to retire her No. 22 jersey in February.
15,000 strong
#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/CLzhlLnpVA
— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 27, 2025
Fans will not only be able to watch Clark but also get a look at the updated Fever team. Indiana went through a full team overhaul in the offseason, beginning with bringing in Stephanie White as head coach. The team also acquired DeWanna Bonner and Sophie Cunningham while re-signing Kelsey Mitchell.
The game will be one of three preseason affairs the Fever currently have booked. They begin play on May 3 against the Washington Mystics and conclude the brief period on May 10 at the Atlanta Dream. Indiana will officially begin the 2025 season on May 17 against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky.
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